


Some Things Are Meant to Be

by voiceoftreas0n



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 12:23:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14472675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voiceoftreas0n/pseuds/voiceoftreas0n
Summary: Across the vast expanse of time and space, Pidge and Shiro find each other.Again and again.Always.





	Some Things Are Meant to Be

**Author's Note:**

> So this isn't an update for any of my ongoing stories, I know, but apparently posting this _completely_ slipped my mind. Special thanks to zine editors [d0g-bless](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtakuOkami/pseuds/d0g-bless) and Sakura Scout for helping me get my shit together.

She first spotted him from across the ballroom amidst the twirling gowns and orchestra strings.

It wasn’t all that hard, if she had to be honest.

Or so Katherine believed.

But oh, he was a  _ foreigner _ , making him a man of intrigue and the center of her attention as he conversed with her brother.

Mystery always had its ways to attract attention. 

Not to mention he was devastatingly attractive, and contrary to popular belief the foreign flair he carried was more of an embellishment than a detriment to the fact. 

_ She, _ on the other hand…

Katherine Holt, daughter of the esteemed Commander Samuel Holt and sister of the eligible bachelor Matthew Holt. A debutante with high merit yet also a penchant for not behaving like one should with her outspokenness and startling quips, much to the disdain of her mother and fellow debutantes alike.

It was a truth universally acknowledged that a man so attractive was either already married or very much in search of a wife, and it just so appeared that her brother had taken it upon himself to find out exactly which of the two it was.  

Katherine could’ve sworn she felt panic swell in her stomach when the pair of men turned toward her.

She could only watch as Matthew made his way to where she stood, the mystery man in tow.

“Mr. Shirogane, might I introduce you to my sister, Miss Katherine Holt?”

She gave her best curtsy.

Matthew smiled. “Katherine, this is Mr. Shirogane. He’s…  _ new  _ in town.”

Mr. Shirogane bowed. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Holt.” He held out his hand for her. “Would you care for a dance?”

Katherine found herself paying no heed to the smirk growing on her brother’s face as she put her hand in his, deciding to save her indignation for his attempts at matchmaking for a later date. 

“That would be a delight, Mr. Shirogane.”

Indeed, it certainly would be. 

* * *

She wasn’t quite sure they became good friends in the months since he arrived.

Granted, interaction was required for her position as his official translator during his stay as Japan’s representative for the Axis Powers’ tech inspection but  _ still _ . 

The most her German tongue could pronounce of the Lieutenant Colonel’s name was  _ Shiro,  _ and the name sort of stuck with the rest of her colleagues. While he had been rather accepting of the nickname, it still didn’t quite explain why he had been taking it upon himself to bring her lunch every day for the past week.   

“Why do you always bring me food?” she asked through a mouthful of sandwich, one hand secured over her meal and the other still entangled with cleaning up as much of her workspace as she could. 

Shiro hadn’t seemed to mind in the slightest, but it was still common courtesy here to tidy up for guests. She might as well keep teaching him about the culture while he was still in Berlin, right?    

“You take your work too seriously, Katie.”

She swallowed before letting out a chuckle. “Pot, meet kettle.”

He raised a curious brow, and at this Katie realized her English vocabulary had always been a little broader than his.  

“It’s an expression.” She took another bite. “Like, it’s ironic for you to say that when you’re just like that as well.”

He nodded. “Ah.” 

While the thought was disgusting at best, Katie couldn’t help but think that maybe whatever disaster the world had brought itself to wouldn’t have been so bad if it meant spending the rest of her time like this with him.  

* * *

 

There was a little trepidation that came with watching Elvis Presley live. 

Maybe it was the fact that there were people,  _ lots _ of people, and the impending dangers that came with crowds. Like stampedes. Or suffocation. Or hearing loss. 

Or the fact that it wouldn’t be anything like watching the videos or listening to the records because no, she wasn’t in the safe confines of her room with her pajamas and record player, she was in an actual stadium, and the King would be right there, and Pidge was not entirely sure her heart could handle the idea of seeing his actual face and hearing his actual voice. 

Or maybe just the startling fact that she was going to said concert with Shiro, her sort of boyfriend who had been dancing around her the same way she had been dancing around him for the past three years or so on the account of feelings and relationships.

In her defense, she never wanted to jump into anything she wasn’t perfectly certain of.

But then again…

She was in the Arizona State University Concert Hall watching Elvis live while being unsure of her cardiovascular wellbeing and the risk of being killed by the crowd, and she was having  _ the time of her life _ . 

So maybe uncertainty wasn’t all too bad.

Now Elvis had just finished with his final thanks and greetings and started up the familiar lyrics of  _ Can’t Help Falling in Love _ , and Pidge figured she might as well do it. 

When Elvis was on your side, you knew you had to act.

“Hey, Shiro?” 

The sound of his name on her lips spiked adrenaline through her body, and for a second, she considered not going through with telling him and to save it for another day. 

All her past failed attempts involved her heart pounding within her ribcage, rendering her unable to speak, her voice shrinking like a sweater in the dryer. Then she’d hastily bail out before she could say anything stupid.

This time was no exception.

But when she saw the way his eyes were warm as they turned and focused on her, her heart stopped skipping and started beating steadily, her voice ready in her throat, and the idea to tell him how she felt wasn’t stupid at all. 

And she realized that  _ this _ was how she should tell him.

Katie found herself smiling as she said the words.

“ _ I love you. _ ”

Judging by the way his jaw fell agape, how his eyes widened by just a fraction of an inch and how all the air in his lungs escaped his body in a silent gasp, Katie could tell he knew how she meant it without any further clarification.  

As if to punctuate the statement, “Can’t Help Falling In Love” ended with the choir belting the last few chords, and the King kneeling to the ground in a grateful bow to the audience. 

The applause and fanfare that followed after were lost on her ears when Shiro pulled her in for a kiss.  

* * *

 

When in intergalactic war, one tended to put into consideration the fact that the biggest mission wasn’t always the  _ last _ . 

They had learned their lesson again and again, a hundred times over in the past years.  

But now…

Katie took a look at the hologram before them, taking note of all her positions, recalling all the call signs and strategies and other technical recalibrations she had to ensure before Allura and Kolivan dismissed them.  

This was it. 

Years of war, of fighting and bloodshed and of Zarkon’s tyranny finally,  _ finally  _ put to an end.  

“Alright, everyone,” Allura called. “Rest for the night. We assemble to wormhole in the morning, and I expect everyone to assemble at least three vargas before then.” 

And before they did just that, they all needed a good night’s sleep.

Shiro had been oddly quiet on their way back to their room. 

“Is something wrong?” Katie asked as they went inside. 

He took in a deep breath. 

“There’s something I want to tell you. You may want to sit down for this.” 

This didn’t sound good. Katie complied in confusion, the mattress letting out a gasp under her weight as she sat at the foot of their bed. 

Shiro took in another breath. “Look, if I don’t make it tomorrow—“ 

She felt her blood stop. 

“No. I’m stopping you right there.” She made the move to stand up but flopped back down on the bed when Shiro lifted a hand. 

“Katie,  _ please _ just hear me out.”

Her mouth fell open in silent protest, yet the somber look on his face convinced her to listen to the less stubborn part of her conscience and do what he asked. Katie dug her teeth into her lip as she nodded. 

“If I don’t make it out, I want you to have this.” 

Curiously, he started to unzipping his vest and stuck his hand under the fabric of his shirt. 

And with startling clarity, Katie knew what he was trying to get. 

His dog tags.

The chain was long enough for him to hold it out in the open for her to see without actually taking it off. 

“Shiro, you know I can’t—“ Words stopped dead in her throat. What  _ could  _ she say in response to something so personal, something she knew she couldn’t return back in kind? Granted, they have been together for years, but  _ this?  _

“We’re not under any jurisdiction of the Garrison, so I can make my own choice regarding this,” Shiro rebutted, his tone final.  

Her knees were weak, yet Katie still made the effort to stand up and close the little distance between them. Gently, resolutely, she plucked the tags from Shiro’s hand, and the resulting emptiness of his palm lead him to curl his arm around her waist.   

Oddly enough, the tags were still pristine despite years of war, and the engraving looked fresh, free of dirt in between grooves and scratches across the metal’s surface.  

**TAKASHI SHIROGANE**

**FIGHTER PILOT NO. 061016**

**02 – 29 – XXXX**

**BLOODTYPE: A**

“Why didn’t you bring this up before?” she asked, tilting her chin up to look at him. 

He had almost died during the Holt rescue mission. And when they attacked a major Galra base a few weeks after that. If he was so sure with his choice for her to have it, why was he only telling her this  _ now _ ? 

“Katie,” he started. 

The tone of his voice already told her enough.  

_ You already know why _ .  

She fought back the lump in her throat as she nodded. “Alright.” 

“This doesn’t mean I’m gonna die, alright?” His other hand reached to wrap more secure around her waist and pull her closer to him. “I said if, not when.” He rested his forehead on hers.  “I’m not dying tomorrow.”

The sureness of his voice was a rock to whatever anxious thoughts had begun to run amuck in her already overworked mind. 

With a smile, she nodded and kissed his nose. 

“I’ll hold you to it, then.”

.

.

.

Katie had never really been the superstitious type. 

There was no point in beliefs without scientific basis except for irrational fear and family tradition. 

But now as she clutched the tags that hung around her neck, Katie couldn’t help but think of one cause for this. 

Shiro had  _ jinxed  _ himself. 

.

.

.

Katie passed away much, much later after that. 

After Voltron.

After the war. 

After everything. 

After she had lived her life the way she wanted to, all except for the glaring fact that Shiro wasn’t by her side. 

She never took off his tag. 

She wore it in life. 

.

.

.

And in death, she clutched it to her chest as the last breaths of air escaped her lips. 

.

.

.

Two beeps.

.

.

.

One beep.

.

.

.

The line went flat. 

.

.

.

Katie isn’t exactly waking as she practically jumps off her mattress in a startled heap. 

Groaning, she reaches over to her nightstand to hit  _ snooze _ on her beeping alarm clock.

Her sheets flutter onto the covers as she sits up. She yawns, swinging her legs over the edge. She reaches for her glasses and puts them on before standing up. 

_ Good morning, world.  _

* * *

 

Green isn’t actually her favorite color. 

Though the loose green blouse and shorts she wears say otherwise, along with the abundance of forest-colored clothes in her closet, Katie doesn’t really think of it as her favorite. It just appeals to her for one reason or her another. That, and it suits her.

Katie likes having her hair long. But as she runs a brush through the mess of honey brown cascading down her back, she can’t help but feel that it would look better  _ shorter. _

“Katie? You ready?”

All intrusive thoughts are cut short when Matt’s voice sounds from behind her bedroom door. 

“We leave in ten minutes.” 

Oh, right. 

In ten minutes, she and Matt would meet his best friend (whose name Katie can’t remember for the life of her) for brunch before catching the premiere of the latest  _ Star Wars _ movie. 

Katie puts the brush down on her vanity. “Almost done!” she calls back before grabbing her bag and heading out. 

* * *

She first spots him as soon as he enters the meeting place. The bell at the door chimes gently to signal his appearance. 

The venue isn’t a place they go to every day. It’s not too fancy. It has just the right amount of coziness and sophistication making it the perfect place for teenagers to hang out and grab a bite before waiting in line for the movie of the year. 

Katie can only watch as he makes his way toward their table, barely catching onto Matt’s gesture of standing up to welcome the guest. 

With a small stutter in her step, Katie stands up and continues to watch as Matt and Shiro excitedly greet each other. 

After the bromance is settled, Matt turns to her with a grin. 

“Shiro, this is my sister, Katie,” her brother says, gesturing back and forth between the two of them with a grin. “And Katie, this is Shiro.” 

Shiro’s smile is genuine enough to be infectious. “It’s nice to meet you, Katie,” he says, sticking out his hand for her to shake. 

She manages a nod in return. “Likewise,” she says, putting her hand in his. 

And in an instant, there is a spark. 

Not a sudden jolt at the new and unfamiliar contact.

It is more like the flicker of a fire, small and barely there, but still noticeable all the same. 

And not to mention somewhat comforting as well.  

And judging by the curious way he looks at her, he feels it, too.

Katie can’t help but let her smile widen. 

Something in her gut is insistent as it told her:

This is going to be the start of something  _ beautiful _ . 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> With permission from Sydney, I'll be finishing up the extended version of this I've had in mind for this story from the very start. Buckle up, ya'll.


End file.
